ePower Strike Two: Apple has a new press release noting that the courts have granted an injunction against Future Power and Daewoo for copying the iMac in their all-in-one PC design.

OpenGL 1.1.2 Beta Clarification: An Apple worldwide marketing game technologies employee wrote concerned over my posting of OpenGL 1.1.2 (Beta) performance today and asked where I had gotten the files. As noted this weekend in the game news page, the installer I used is part of the Descent3 Demo which is available to every Mac owner on the net, so naturally it is fair game for comparison testing. I've added notes to the OpenGL 1.1.2 updates to clearly indicate they are beta versions, not the final release. Overall I was pleased with the update (even in beta form), as it boosted every Rage128 based system I tested (even the iMac DV by about 20%).

OpenGL 1.1.2 (Beta) Performance Tests in G4/450 Sawtooth: I've updated my Mac 3D Card Roundup to include OpenGL 1.1.2f2 (beta) test results from my G4/450 AGP system (OS 9) with the Rage128 AGP, Voodoo3 3000 AGP, Voodoo3 3000 PCI and Obsidian X24 (dual Voodoo2/SLI card). Also included are results with a Rage128 Orion PCI card in the 66MHz slot of a B&W G3/400 running OS 8.6. The image quality section has been updated with notes on a pixel noise (almost like buzzing bees) issue I saw with the new ATI drivers included with the OpenGL 1.1.2f3 installer. (A B&W G3/Rage128 owner noted the updated ATI drivers fix the Fog/Texture issues in Carmageddon 2 however.) As noted yesterday on the game news page, OpenGL 1.1.2 includes performance improvements as well as Altivec support for G4s.

iMac DV Review Updated for Tests w/OpenGL 1.1.2 Beta: I also tested the new OpenGL 1.1.2f2/ATI drivers on the iMac DV SE. I've updated my iMac DV SE review game performance page to include the results in the tables of game test scores.

iBook/OpenGL 1.1.2f2/ATI driver Update Comments: An iBook owner sent a note he saw a drop in performance with the OpenGL/ATI update:

"My iBook's Q3test scores dropped substantially after installing the OpenGL 1.1.2f2 drivers which come with the Descent 3 demo.

160MB, no VM, running at 640*480, cg_simpleitems 1, 16-bit color and textures, lowest texture and geometry.

With OpenGL 1.1.1 from MacOS 9: 12.6 (FPS)
With OpenGL 1.1.2f2 from Descent 3 demo: 10.2 (FPS)

And no easy way to revert without digging out the OS9 cd - the "remove" option on the installer does not revert the files, it only removes them. It's gone from almost playable (but a significant handicap) to pretty much unplayable. Disappointing... hopefully the actual release will offer improvements.
cheers,
Mike Fortson
Chief Technology Officer
Medium One Productions, Inc."

Tip: I always make a 'backup' copy of my extensions folder before applying any update like this. It's fast and easy and takes a lot less time than individual extension copying or other methods. Tome viewer should be able to extract out the previous files from the iBook System CD. However I'd first look in the system/extensions folder of the iBook CD to see if all the needed OpenGL/video driver extensions are present (probably the fastest method). I'd delete or move all the current ATI drivers from your extensions folder first however (there are likely more ATI extensions installed from the update than the iBook originally had. Removing all of them assures that you have only a 'matched' set, not a mixed batch).

Q3Test 1.08 Performance Tips: To boost your game framerate without sacrificing too much in image quality, here are some Game Options I disabled in Q3test that improved scores on the iMac DV (192MB RAM/VM off) from 23.8 frames per second (OpenGL 1.1.2/640x480 32Bit mode) to 28.9 fps (appx. 20% gain). These tips will of course help with other systems and video cards as well.

• Marks on Walls: Off
• Ejecting Brass: Off
• High Quality Sky: Off
• Dynamic Lighting: Off

The latter seems to make the most difference at least on the Rage128/iMac DV.

640x480 Movie Capture with Rage128 VR: I've updated my Rage128 VR Feedback page with a reader's tips and comments on how he captured movies at 640x480 (30fps) in Adobe Premiere (and near that size using the ATI capture application). Also added was a report that not having the remote control visible prevented crashes when resizing the video player window.

iBook Keyboard Bounce Fix: I don't own an iBook but thought this owner's tip might be of interest:

"I've noticed a lot of talk about the rightmost side of iBook keyboards being too springy due to not being flush with the book. I saw someone suggest a fix where the vacant space should be filled with an adhesive pad. This was the first thing I tried (with layers of masking tape) but once I achieved the point where the keyboard was no longer springy, the f12 key was so elevated to the point that it was depressed when the book was closed. This had the undesirable side effect of waking a sleeping iBook whenever the case was closed.

So here's what I did.. took two small strips of scotch tape. placed one on the underside of the keyboard under the f12 key and placed the other on the upper right of the keyboard support frame (for lack of anything better to call the area where the keyboard rests..) In other words, the pieces of tape should be oriented on their respective surfaces so that they touch each other when the keyboard is installed.

Now place a tiny dot of superglue on one of the pieces of scotch tape. reinstall the keyboard and hold the f12 key down firmly for about 15 seconds to a minute. voila, no more keyboard bounce. hopefully, the scotch tape is non-porous enough that the superglue didn't soak thru and get to the plastic.. the real purpose of the tape is to make it possible to remove the keyboard without damaging the plastic underneath. the theory goes that if the bond is too strong to break, then the tape will simply peel off instead.

regards and thanks for an excellent site,
Jon Gamble"

G4 Strip Utility: A reader asked I post a reminder on G4 Strip, a utility for G4 CPU owners that reports CPU temperatures, processor/system info and more.

OS 9 Feedback/Compatibility/Tips Page: I've finally gotten time to post a page summarizing the compatibility reports, tips, improvements of OS 9. Much of the information is based on OS 9 Owner feedback. The page also lists all Apple TILs related to OS 9 as of Sunday. On the subject of OS 9 TILs, Dan Kuraisa sent a note about an Apple TIL on OS 9 and USB PCMCIA/PCI cards, stating the USB 1.2 drivers were not OS 9 compatible. This contradicts some reader reports (beige G3 and earlier models) that reinstalling Apple's USB 1.2 drivers solved the OS 9/USB PCI card issue. In fact, see my OS 9 Feedback page for a tip from a Belkin USB card owner which also includes a Gamesprockets issue workaround.

Total Impact MP G4/G4 CPU Cards: Several readers sent a note about Total Impact's MP G4/G3 CPU cards (PCI slot form factor). I posted a note on them last year (G3 version). It's my understanding they require software modifications to applications for full support, and the price I suspect puts them out of reach to most consumers.

Mark Millard wrote that HP has announced they will not release a 3GB DVD-Read/Write drive this fall, instead they are waiting to release a 4.7GB model.

For a blast from the past see what was on the front page news here one year ago.

Weekend's News Summary

• Game News updated
• More G3 Throttle Praise (solves Beige G3 printing problem)
• More VR128 Feedback: Connectix Quickcam extension conflict
• 6500/Rage128 tips
• MacGurus Rage128 Orion/Nexus tech notes page
• OS 9 Keyboard Macros: supported mac models
• OS 9 on Older Macs: Some happy/some not
• Readers miss Speed Doubler under OS 9
• Connectix OS 9 compat. page (VPC OK, Ramdblr to be updated, no news on Speed dblr)
• Other Net News
• Rate Your G3 Upgrade, Game Reviews and Game Framerates databases updated.

Friday's News Summary

• XLR8 Cache Control 1.4.1 Upgrade Issues
• iBench Browser Benchmark
• Beta6 Voodoo3 Drivers Coming
• PS 5.5/Altivec Bug/Update due from Adobe
• Powerlogix announces PF G4/400
• ATI Tech Note on OS 9/ATI Univ. 4.0x Drivers
• Proformance 3 OpenGL Beta
• Rate Your G3 Upgrade, Game Reviews (including Rainbow Six beta report) and Game Framerates databases updated.
• Sonnet G3 upgraded 6400 owner notes G3 Throttle util solves Geoport modem issue
• G3 upgraded PTP225 owner reports ATI Rage128 Orion needed driver update after CPU upgrade.
• Dramatic gains in Photoshop 4 noted by 8100 Nubus Mac owner after G3 CPU upgrade
• PTP 225/PF G3/220 owner reports no audio problems with Turbomax IDE card
• ATI Rage128 VR owners feedback page posted (reports from working systems)
• "Rare Glitch Project" (windows humor article)
• Multiple monitor displays
• TripleDTools Illustrator EPS file converter for ElectricImage
• site wins MyMac Magazine 'site of the month'
• Other Net News

Thursday's News Summary

• Unreal Tournament Mutator Mods
• VR128 Owners Request
• Wired4DVD Update
• Sawtooth G4s & SCSI Cards Compat. notes
• OpenGL 1.1.2 list of extensions/versions
• Softhut lowers prices on Nubus MP340 graphics card
• More on Sawtooth (G4/AGP) RAM Upgrades
• OS 9 Keyboard Macros
• OS 9 on Older Macs (reader comments)
• OS 9 update on G4/450
• Other Net News

For a guide to finding answers to questions - see my Site Guide page.

Considering a G3 Upgrade? Check the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. Readers post new entries daily and the database is updated several times a week. I urge any owners that have had problems to report this via the Survey Form. Always give the most weight to recent owner reports (dated in the listing) as in many cases problems are later found to be due to settings errors, slow L2 cache, etc.

-Freq Asked Questions

Check Apple's Software Updates
(especially their Recent Updates)

Apple TIL Updates

Apple Forums